It is now common to wash vehicles such as cars, trucks and busses with an apparatus, usually known as a "carwasher", having rotating top and side brushes, and a suitable water/chemical spray system. One popular commercial apparatus is manufactured by the Bivens Winchester Corporation of Danville, Virginia and is sold under the trade-name "SLANT Model No. 460A". This product is described in part in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,470,167 and 4,593,425, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Carwasher brushes generally comprise a shaft and a plurality of brush strand or bristle sections which are wrapped around the shaft in contiguous fashion. The strands or bristles are typically long plastic filaments or thin strips of felt-like material which contact the vehicles during the washing process. The brush shaft is mounted for rotation and is driven by a motor.
A vehicle has many different objects on the outside of its body, such as antennas, mirrors, and windshield wipers. The brush filaments or thin strips can become entangled with these objects during the washing process. This may prevent complete washing, leave detached filaments or strips on the vehicles, and, in the extreme case, loosen or break the objects from the vehicle. Each of these results displeases either the operator of the vehicle washing apparatus or the owner of the vehicle, or both.
The present invention solves the problems inherent to the use of this type of brush element when in contact with projections on the outer surface of a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,506,995, 3,750,212 and 3,443,270 utilize rotary brushes and appear to address the above-described problems by avoiding contact between the rotary brushes and the portions of the vehicle most likely to cause problems. This is not always practical with projections the locations of which cannot be conveniently and specifically anticipated. Moreover, disengaging or shutting off the brush leaves part of the vehicle unwashed.